New work requirements imposed on the state’s Medicaid recipients have left 4,350 low-income residents without health coverage. “I hope these data scare the pants off people,” a panel member said.
President Trump has accused Democrats of trying to “raid,” “rob” or “hurt” Medicare and Social Security, while suggesting he has made both programs “stronger.” Neither claim is true.
Republican and Democratic states clash in oral arguments over whether the health law is unconstitutional now that Congress has eliminated the tax penalty for not having insurance.
A federal judge in Texas will consider whether to suspend or kill the law. The Trump Administration has chosen not to defend it and its coverage of pre-existing conditions.
Trump administration officials say they will still allow states to impose work requirements on Medicaid beneficiaries, despite a federal court ruling that blocked such requirements in Kentucky.
Federal officials got a skeptical reaction from state insurance regulators on the value of the plans promoted by the president as a cheap alternative to the Affordable Care Act.
Consumers may soon have access to less expensive health insurance providing fewer benefits under a Trump administration rule intended to skirt requirements of the Affordable Care Act.